Tobacco leaf cutting machine



May 9 1 n 939.

H. w. LANGRISH I ACCO LEAF' CUTTING MACHINE Filed D e 20, 1937 2 shBets-Sheet 1 @l1/ff' Imm May 9, 1939. H. w. LANGRISH TOBACCO LEAFCUTTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 20, 1937 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII L llllllll Illl llll Il www Patented May 9, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOBACCO LEAF CUTTING MACHINE ApplicationDecember 20, 1937, Serial No. 180,861 In Great Britain `arluarv 4, 19375 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to tobacco leafcutting machines, and refers to tobacco leaf cutting machines of thetype in which a mass of compressed tobacco leaves (hereinafter referredto as a cheese) is moved through a mouthpiece, a part of said mouthpiecebeing movable relatively to the remainder of the mouthpiece and urgedtowards said remainder So as automatically to accommodate variations inthe thickness o-f the cheese, and in which a cutting element is movableacross the mouthpiece to co-operate therewith and sever the cheese, saidcutting element during the cutting operation being movable in an arcuatepath across the mouthpiece.

One form of machine of the type described is shown in prior UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,933,181, and it is found that in cases wherethe knife moves through an arcuate path during a cutting operation,during a part of each cutting operation the cutting element co-operateswith both the xed part and the movable part of the mouthpiece to effectthe cutting of the cheese.

With machines of this type it is found that when the movable part of themouthpiece, usually the upper part, is moved it is moved in an arcuatepath so that the movable part of the mouthpiece is moved out ofalignment with the xed part of the mouthpiece, with the result that themouthpiece considered as a whole is no longer located in the cuttingplane of the knife and the cheese is, therefore, not severed in thedesired manner, but is cut in an uneven manner.

It is an object of the invention to provide a more uniform cutting ofthe cheese by a cutting element which moves in an arcuate path whilstco-operating with a mouthpiece, a part of which is movable relatively tothe remainder thereof to accommodate variations in the thickness of thecheese being severed.

According to the invention there is provided a tobacco leaf cuttingmachine of the type der scribed, wherein a movable carrier is providedfor and is movable with the movable part of the mouthpiece, said carrierbeing connected at two fixed points thereon with guide elements whicho-n movement of the carrier cause the two said points to move withcomponents of movement substantially parallel to the plane of themouthpiece, one of said points having as one of its components ofmovement a component towards the plane of the mouthpiece at the timewhen the other point has as one of its components of movement acomponent away from the plane of the mouthpiece.

Further, according to the invention there is provided a tobacco leafcutting machine of the type described wherein the movable part of themouthpiece is supported on a carrier, two points on which are movable inarcuate paths, the said paths subtending angles in opposite directionsand being so arranged that any movement along each of said paths has acomponent in the desired direction of movement of the movable part ofthe mouthpiece.

A line joining the two said points on the carrier movable in the saidarcuate paths may extend in the general direction of the movable part ofthe mouthpiece, the carrier being pivotally connected at each of saidpoints to a support, and the two said supports being arranged to extendaway from the carrier in opposite directions towards xed points on whichthey are mounted and about which the supports are angularly movable.

The carrier maybe pivoted at one of its two xed points to a supportmounted on and angularly movable about a xed pivot, and the other of thetwo said fixed points of the carrier may co-operate with a curved (e.g., arcuate) guide.

Two embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a side sectional elevation of a part of a tobacco leafcutting machine.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of Figure 1 looking in the direction of thearrow 2.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of an alternative embodiment ofthe invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the specificationand drawings.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, tobaccol leaves are placed on an endlessconveyor band 4 and are passed by the conveyor band beneath a furtherendless conveyor band 5 which is disposed above the conveyor band 4, thetwo bands being arranged to converge towards each other to effectcompression of the tobacco leaves and thereby to form a cheese. As willbe seen from Figure 1, the opposed surfaces of the bands 4 and 5 aremovable in the same direction so that the cheese formed therebetween isfed thereby to a mouthpiece 6. The bands 4 and 5 are positively drivenby any suitable means.

The mouthpiece 6 comprises a fixed portion 'l and a movable portion 8.rIhe portion 8 of the mouthpiece is arranged to be movable so as toaccommodate varying thicknesses of cheese and for this purpose issupported by a carrier 9, which carrier is pivoted at I 0 to asupporting arm II which is in turn movable about a xed pivot I2 mountedin the frame I3 of the machine. The carrier 9 is also pivoted at I4 to aWeight support I5, the support I5 being movable about a fixed pivot I6mounted in the frame: I3 of the machine. The support I5 is provided witha weight I'I the object of which is to urge the movable part 8 of themouthpiece towards the iixed part 1. Toggle mechanism I8 supporting atable I9 is provided to support the weight Il during 'the initialsetting of. the machine. When the machine is in operation the table I9is lowered by the toggle mechanism I8 so that the weight I'I and itssupport are freely movable about the pivot i5.

The cutting cf the cheese as it passes through the mouthpiece 6 iseected by a series of knives 20 which are spaced about and supported bya carrier 2l which is rotated about a spindle 22. Rotation of thespindle 22 is eii'ected by any suitable means, such as from the maindrive of the machine or by a separate moto-r. As will be seen fromFigure 2, the path swept out by the knives 2B is indicated in chainlines, two of the knives 2 also being indicated by chain lines. InFigure 1 only one knife is shown and corresponds in position to thatshown in chain lines at the right hand side of Figure 2.

By the arrangement of the carrier 9 and the supports II and I5, anymovement of the movable part 8 of the mouthpiece is effectedsubstantially in the cutting plane of the knives 20. As Will be seenfrom Figure 1, the pivots Il! and I 4 respectively move in arcuate pathswhich subtend angles in opposite directions. The movement of the movablepart 3 of the mouthpiece, therefore, towards or away from the fixed parti will cause the axes of the pivots I and I4 which can be considered astwo spaced points on the carrier 9 to move with components of. movementsubstantially parallel to the plane of the mouthpiece. During suchmovement one of said points will have as one of its components ofmovement a component towards the plane of the mouthpiece at the timewhen the other point has as one of its components of movement acomponent away from the` plane of the mouthpiece. From the drawing itwill be seen that a line joining the two points extends in the generaldirection of movement of the movable part 8 of the mouthpiece. By soarranging the movement of the carrier the movable part 8 of themouthpiece is maintained substantially in the cutting plane of theknives 2B.

The construction shown diagrammatically in Figure 3 comprises thecarrier 9 which is pivoted at I to the support II as previouslydescribed. The carrier 9 is also pivoted at Ill to the support i5, andthe support I5 is pivoted at I5 to the frame of the machine. In thisconstruction the point represented by the pivot I4 is guided by a cam 23and whilst being so guided is permitted, due to a slot 24 formed in thesupport I5, to move relatively to the support I 5. The cam comprises acurved track and a cam follower 25 supported by the carrier 8 isarranged to be rotatable about the axis of the pivot I li and to move inthe curved track. As in the construction previously described withreference to Figures l and 2, the pivot points I0 and I 4 comprise twospaced points on the carrier 9, but in the modied construction shown inFigure 3 the point IIJ is connected with a support II which is mountedon and angularly movable about a fixed pivot I2,

whereas the pivot I4 which comprises the other point through the mediumof the cam follower 25 co-operates with the curved guide formed by thecam 23.

The expression plane of the mouthpiece, as employed in the appendedclaims, refers to thc plane defined by the free edges of the mouthpiece.

What I claim as my invention and desire toV secure by Letters Patentis:-

1. In a tobacco leaf cutting machine, the combination with a kniferotatable about a fixed axis of a mouthpiece with which said knifecooperates to effect cutting, said mouthpiece comprising a fixed partand a part adapted to move toward and away from said fixed part inaccordance with the thickness of the tobacco mass passing therebetween,a carrier on which said movable mouthpiece part is mounted, guideelements engaging said carrier at points spaced in the direction of theplane of said mouthpiece, and means normally urging said movablemouthpiece. part toward said fixed mouthpiece part, said parts being soconstructed and Aarranged that on movement of said carrier said spacedpoints move with components of movement parallel to the plane of themouthpiece, one of said points having a component of movement toward theplane of said mouthpiece at a time when the other of said points has acomponent of movement away from said plane, whereby said movablemouthpiece part moves substantially in the plane of said mouthpiece.

2. In a tobacco leaf cutting machine, the combination with a kniferotatable about a fixed axis ci a mouthpiece with which said knifeccoperates to eiect cutting, said mouthpiece comprising a xed part and apart adapted to move toward and away from said xed part in accordancewith the thickness of the tobacco mass passing therebetween, a carrieron which said movable mouthpiece part is moiuited, supports engagingsaid carrier at points spaced in the direction of the plane of saidmouthpiece, and means normally urging said movable mouthpiece parttoward said fixed mouthpiece part, said parts being so constructed andarranged that said spaced points are movable in arcuate paths whichsubtend angles in opposite directions whereby any movement along each ofsaid paths has a component in the desired direction of movement of saidmovable mouthpiece part.

3. In a tobacco leaf cutting machine, the cornbination with a kniferotatable about a fixed axis of a mouthpiece with which said knifecooperates to effect cutting, said mouthpiece comprising a fixed partand a part adapted to move toward and away from said fixed part inaccordance with the thickness of the tobacco mass passing therebetween,a carrier on which said movable mouthpiece part is mounted, supportspivoted to said carrier at points spaced in the direction of the planeof said mouthpiece, and means normally urging said movable mouthpiecepart toward said iixed mouthpiece part, said supports being angularlymovable about fixed pivots arranged respectively on opposite sides of aline connecting said spaced points, whereby said spaced points aremovable in arcuate paths each of which has a component in the desireddirection of movement of said movable mouthpiece part.

4. In a tobacco leaf cutting machine, the combination with a kniferotatable about a fixed axis of a mouthpiece with which said knifecooperates to effect cutting, said mouthpiece comprising a Xed part anda part adapted to move toward and away from said iiXed part inaccordance with the thickness of the tobacco mass passing therebetween,a carrier on which said movable mouthpiece part is mounted, guideelements engaging said carrier at points spaced in the direction of theplane of said mouthpiece, curved guide means engaging said carrier, andmeans normally urging said movable mouthpiece part toward said xedmouthpiece part, said parts being so constructed and arranged that onmovement of said carrier said spaced points move with components ofmovement parallel to the plane of the mouthpiece, one of Said pointshaving a component of movement toward the plane of said mouthpiece at atime when the other of said points has a component of movement away fromsaid plane, whereby said movable mouthpiece part moves substantially inthe plane of said mouthpiece.

5. In a tobacco leaf cutting machine the combination with a kniferotatable about a fixed axis of a mouthpiece with which the knifecooperates to eiect cutting, said mouthpiece comprising a fixed part anda movable part, a carrier for the movable part, a support mounted on andangularly movable about a fixed pivot, said support being pivotallyconnected with the carrier at one point, a second support mounted on andangularly movable about a fixed pivot, said second support beingpivotally connected with the carrier at a second point, a curved guidecooperating with the second point to change the relative position of thepoint with respect to the support during movement of the carrier, saidxed pivot and curved guide being so disposed relative to the carrierthat on movement of the movable mouthpiece part one of said points has acomponent of movement towards the plane of the mouthpiece at the timewhen the other point has a component of movement away from the plane ofthe mouthpiece.

HENRY WILLIAM LANGRISI-I-

